


Summer nights

by sableflynn



Category: Original Work
Genre: Attacked in Their Sleep, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Gen, Mugging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 09:48:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22848172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sableflynn/pseuds/sableflynn
Summary: Kailo is new to the city and has no clue what he's doing.
Collections: Bad Things Happen Bingo





	Summer nights

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the "attacked in their sleep" prompt for Bad Things Happen Bingo

Kailo stared at the innkeeper, not fully understanding what she was saying. "What do you mean it's not enough? It was enough last night…”

“But it’s solstice week now, yeah? Everything’s gonna be pricier with all the tourists coming in.” The innkeeper gave him a sympathetic smile, but she was drumming her fingers along the bar like she was waiting for him to leave. “Listen honey, you should just go home. Your mom probably misses you.”

“But I…” He bit his lip. Home was so far away, and he didn’t come all the way to the city just to run away as soon as things got difficult. “Is there somewhere else nearby I could stay?” This had been the cheapest inn he could find, but there was so much of the city he hadn’t seen yet and he easily could've missed something. 

But she just shrugged, already turning her attention to the next customers. “Might be. Good luck finding a place with an open room this late at the start of solstice week, though.” 

And so Kailo found himself on the street again, pack slung over his shoulder, trying to stay positive. _This isn’t the only inn in the city. There’s got to be somewhere with a room I can afford._ Tomorrow he would wake up early and see what odd jobs he could pick up around the city. He just needed a place to crash for the night.

But the next three places he checked were completely full, and the two after that were even more expensive than the one he had left behind. He was starting to feel desperate. Each time he stepped back outside, the streets seemed a little bit emptier, the shadows a little bit darker. The owner of the last place he stopped had actually laughed in his face when he told them how much he could pay. He rubbed away the tears of embarrassment and frustration that pricked at his eyes. _Why is everyone here so cruel?_

As the night went on, exhaustion overcame any sense of self-preservation; he stopped looking at inns and started eyeing the secluded, winding alleys criss-crossing the city. _It’s just one night…_ He could tuck himself somewhere out of the way and curl up for a few hours. Just enough to take the edge off his exhaustion. _At least it’s not raining._

He eventually found a dead end behind what looked like a bakery, closed for the night. _Maybe if I wake up early enough, they’ll give me some bread before they open for the day._ Surely there had to be _some_ kind people in this city. He curled up on the cool cobblestones, arms tightly wrapping his pack. The city was never truly silent, but here the sounds of the late night life became a sort of ambient background noise, muffled by the walls of the buildings surrounding him. He could see the crescent moon in the sky between the rooftops, and he could almost convince himself this was peaceful. Letting his eyes drift shut, he slowly fell into an uneasy sleep. 

***

Kailo woke with a start to the sensation of something tugging at the bag clutched in his arms. He jolted up to sitting and threw himself back, his mind struggling to catch up to where he was and what was happening. _I slept outside, and now I’m not alone._ He squinted in the dim moonlight and made out the figure of a man crouching at his side.

“Hey, don’t worry,” the man said in a voice that absolutely made Kailo worry. “I don’t have to hurt you. I just wanna see if you’ve got anything good in that bag.” The man advanced on him, reaching for the bag once again.

“I don’t have anything!” Kailo’s back hit the wall and he hugged his bag closer, eyes scanning the alley for some way out. He could only see the man looming over him, blocking his line of sight. He kicked out in desperation. “Get off of me! I swear I don’t have anything! Leave me alone!”

The man’s fist smashed into the side of his face, whipping his head against the wall as pain exploded across his cheek. Stunned, he sat helpless for a minute as he felt the bag being lifted out of his arms. _No._ Kailo shook the stars from his vision to see the man digging through the pack, counting out the small amount of money he had. Reaching back in to pull out the blanket from home.

“You don’t have anything?” The man held the blanket aloft, and Kailo froze. It was hand embroidered with the waves and foam of the sea, a gift from his mother, the only keepsake he had from home. He grabbed for it, but the man pushed him back down easily. “This is cute. Dunno if it’s worth much, but I’m sure someone would buy it.”

“ _No!_ ” Fear forgotten, Kailo threw himself at the man. He had no clue how to fight, but he scrabbled at the man’s arms in an attempt to wrestle the blanket from him. An erratic fist collided with the man’s face, and Kailo felt a brief thrill of victory before he was slammed on his back, knocking all the air out of him.

“Now you’re pissing me off,” the man growled, and Kailo felt a cold bite at his neck that he realized was a knife. “This isn’t worth dying for, is it? Just let it happen, kid. Maybe you’ll be more careful where you sleep next time.” Kailo was scared to move under that knife, scared to even breathe, but he couldn’t let this man walk away with everything he owned. 

“Hey, leave him alone!” 

A voice rang out from the other end of the alley, and they both paused. The man eased off slightly to turn and look, and Kailo was able to lift his head to see a woman standing at the edge of the alley. Even as he was grateful for the distraction, his stomach dropped. _Now this woman is going to get hurt too, because I was stupid enough to think I could move to this city by myself._

“Why don’t you mind your own fuckin’ business?” The man dropped Kailo’s things and stood to face the woman. Not taking his eyes off the scene unfolding in front of him, Kailo grabbed his bag, shoving the blanket back in, and scrambled back against the wall. He should run, or try to help, or do something, but he felt frozen. 

As the woman stepped closer, Kailo managed to find his voice. He had to at least warn her that this man was dangerous. “Watch out! He has a knife!” 

“I can see that,” the woman said with a laugh. “Do you even know how to use that thing?”

Why would she _taunt_ him like that? Now the man was enraged, rushing towards her with the knife in hand. She wasn’t even moving, just watching the man with a smirk on her face as he got closer. Kailo was holding his breath, wondering if he was about to sit here and watch this woman get stabbed while he did nothing.

Instead, he blinked, and suddenly the man was sprawled on the ground, swearing, and the woman was kicking the knife out of his reach. _How did she…?_ Kailo crept forward, torn between wanting to get a closer look and needing to get as far away as possible. 

The man rolled over on the ground, clutching his arm. “What the _fuck?_ What was that for?” 

“That was for you running at me with a knife!” The woman snapped, heated. She picked up the knife and tossed it to Kailo. Too stunned to catch it, he let it slip between his fingers and clatter to the ground at his feet. “And stop bothering people when they’re trying to sleep,” she added, dragging the man back to standing. “Seriously, just go rob a fucking mansion or something if you need money. This is just embarrassing for you.”

“It was going fine until you decided to stick your nose in!” The man seemed a lot less intimidating now, and a lot more flustered. 

“Well I _did_ stick my nose in, so you’d better leave now.” The woman gave him a rough shove towards the street. “Unless you really want to try your luck against me, but let’s be real, we both know you would lose.” Kailo expected the man to attack again, but to his surprise, he instead continued out the alley and vanished onto the street.

Kailo stood rooted to the spot, trying to calm his frantic breathing. The woman walked over to him and looked him over. “You ok, kid?”

A thousand thoughts were racing through his mind _—he could’ve killed you—he tried to rob me—are_ you _ok?—I hate this city—_ but absurdly, the first thing to come out of his mouth was, “I’m not a kid!”

“Fair enough, sorry!” She smiled, and it was oddly comforting despite the streak of blood across her cheek. “But seriously, you seem pretty shaken up.” 

Kailo realized he was clutching his pack to his chest like a lifeline, and he tried to relax himself. “I just...he was gonna kill me. And he could’ve killed you, and I don’t even know you!” 

“What, that guy?” To his shock, the woman laughed. “Nah, he’s harmless. Thinks he’s cool because he can wave a knife around, but he really doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing.” Then she seemed to realize her comments weren’t making him feel any better, and her expression softened. “But hey...why are you out here so late anyway? Don’t you have a place to stay?” 

“I…” Kailo looked down, scuffed the cobblestones with his foot. He was exhausted and terrified, and he wasn’t sure if he could trust her but she seemed honest enough. “Well, I was just staying in an inn, just for a little bit until I could find a place. But then they raised the prices and I couldn’t afford a room, so…”

The woman rolled her eyes. “Fucking tourist season. Sorry that had to happen to you. But listen, if you’re new here…” She paused, looking thoughtful. “I have a couch, you can totally come crash with me. Just for a little bit, so you can get your feet under you.”

“You would do that for me?” Part of his mind was telling him there had to be a catch, but he was just _so tired_ and just wanted to be somewhere safe. “But you don’t even know me!”

“True, that would help!” The woman stuck out her hand in greeting, easy grin back on her face. “I’m Darya, nice to meet you!”

“I’m Kailo.” He shook her hand. “Thanks, by the way. For saving me back there.” 

“Don’t even worry about it!” She headed back towards the street, looking back at him over her shoulder. “Come on, home’s not far from here, and I promise I have a _really nice_ couch!” Kailo paused for a moment, slowly smiling despite his exhaustion. Then he followed her out onto the street and walked by her side, their forms casting long shadows in the glow of the lamplight. 


End file.
